Joining the very "ganjapreneurs" it assiduously covers, an alternative Denver weekly has developed a cottage industry of reviewing the burgeoning local medical marijuana industry, The Associated Press reported yesterday. To that end, Westword is looking for a full-time critic so that its present columnist can return to his other duties, the paper's editor-in-chief wrote October 6. The pay is meagre, but the post is legitimate, CNN reported Monday.

More than 120 candidates have applied for the position, which requires a medical ailment to entitle the critic to use the services of the clinics being rated, the Guardian reported today. The initial want ad, posted September 29 to the newspaper's online edition, follows several other targeted initiatives by the paper to serve this growing consumer base, including the permanent addition of a marijuana dispensary index to the newspaper's Web site.

At the heart of the paper's quest for an industry reviewer is the desire to fill a knowledge gap among a growing number of consumers, Westword Editor-in-Chief Patricia Calhoun wrote on October 6. The Denver Post reported October 6 that licensed Colorado users total 11,094, up from 3,302 in July 2008. Still, confusion regarding the variation available in the marketplace abounds with novice consumers left to trade notes informally via Twitter and blogs, and the paper's attempt to serve this niche audience will fill an information gap untouched by media in the state.

The Post also reported that Colorado is second only to California in its number of dispensaries, boasting about 100 shops selling everything from loose leaf marijuana to a variety of meals containing the substance. Though Colorado legalised medical marijuana in 2000, the recent dispensary boom came only after the state took a less restrictive view of its own law and the Obama administration stopped federal raids on state-sanctioned businesses, The New York Times reported October 4.

Television has been more resistant to advertisements featuring medical marijuana; three major networks rejected commercials campaigning for legislative reform in New York, The New York Daily News reported in September.